Christopher Columbus is in trouble. Political pressure to remove Columbus monuments most recently dates from 1992 during the preparations for the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s first voyage. The movement to remove the monuments accelerated in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.
Search Results for: Ross Sandler
Speed of Subway Trains Challenged
Subway trains at the Spring Street station twice struck passengers lying on the tracks on separate occasions. How fast should subway trains be moving when they enter a station? The faster the subway trains go, the more people the trains can carry and the quicker people will get to their destinations. Even a slowdown of a few seconds per train can slow the entire system. Speed is so important to the mission of the Transit … <Read More>
COMMENTARY – Last Subway: The Second Avenue Subway’s Phase 2 Begins
Since January 1, 2017, when Governor Andrew Cuomo led the celebration to open the Second Avenue Subway, much has happened. A pandemic undermined subway ridership, Governor Cuomo resigned, and a new governor and mayor took office. And now the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway has begun. This will provide the next chapter of the wonderful book by Philip Mark Plotch’s on the Second Avenue Subway, Last Subway: the Long Wait for the Next … <Read More>
Commentary: Annette Gordon-Reed: On Juneteenth
Annette Gordon-Reed, our friend and colleague for 17 years at New York Law School, has just published On Juneteenth (Liveright 2021), a personal and readable story of her growing up in Texas in the 1970’s. Gordon-Reed grew up in Conroe, Texas where her family regularly celebrated Juneteenth. Gordon-Reed was the first Black child to integrate a White elementary school in her city. Through her personal story Gordon-Reed annotates and re-calibrates the conventional story of slavery … <Read More>
Conflicts Board Adopts New Rules on Post-Employment Restrictions and Gifts
On October 8, 2020, the Conflicts of Interest Board adopted new and important changes to its post-employment rules that restrict former City employees from contacting their former City agencies. The Board, in addition, on May 21, 2021, adopted rules relating to the acceptance of gifts by City employees in certain recurring situations. This article examines these new rules.
COMMENTARY: Learning from Bryant Park, a book by Andrew Manshel
A new book recalls the glory of Bryant Park before the Covid-19 shutdown: the movable chairs, the green grass, magazine racks and ping pong tables, shady paths and, most of all, the large numbers of people enjoying Bryant Park.